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November 17, 2013

Review: The Twenty Committee-A Lifeblood Psalm

This
is another of those bands, that as a reviewer, I get the opportunity to
hear, whereas I might not have picked up on them as a simple music
listener. The Twenty Committee are a very young band in terms of musical
heritage, forming in early 2012.With all the members of the band
contributing, they began collaborating on material and doing live shows
to build their reputation, and catalogue. They had a terrific break in
April 2012 when Neal Morse launched a search for unknown talent to
audition for his touring band. One member of The Twenty Committee had
the opportunity to perform original material for Neal and to cut a
longish story short, the Twenty Committee were soon in the studios
(owned by Neal) with a producer who had worked with Neal, Transatlantic
and Flying Colors. The result was the album that I am currently
listening to for review, A Lifeblood Psalm which was released earlier this year.

A Lifeblood Psalm
is a 9 track album with a total running time of around 45 minutes. The
shortest track is the final track, and the last part of “The Knowledge
Enterprise“ suite, entitled “Finale” at 1:26 minutes and the longest
track is “Her Voice” which has a playing time in excess of 10 minutes
(10:08).

The
Twenty Committee seem to be one of the new bands that fit into the
genre, and I do apologize for this as I dislike trying to pigeonhole the
style of a band, which straddles both pop and progressive music.
Despite seeming like a very strange combination, it does work well in
many cases, such as Dynamo Bliss from Sweden and The Opium Cartel from
Norway. The music is instantly accessible and then they slide seamlessly
into progressive territory with little twists and turns, hence the
reference to the pop/prog genre.

The
opening track, “Introduction” (1:49) is a bit of a strange one,
starting as it does with snatches of random conversations from male and
female voices. There is a very simple, but striking, piano melody
accompanied by a crystal clear vocal and a wonderful subdued guitar. The
conversation part rises back from the background as the track finishes.
A short, but very interesting start to the album and does draw the
listener into the album.

The
first “full” track is the stunning “How Wonderful” (7:03) which is
instantly catchy, has a memorable chorus and more of that clear powerful
vocal, which in part reminds me of the similar clarity found in the
vocals of Aaron Clift (from The Aaron Clift Experiment). This track
moves from the more pop sounding opening to a very strong progressive
sound with superb keyboards, more of that beautiful melodious guitar
playing and a powerful, but unobtrusive, rhythm unit.

“Her
Voice” (10:08) is another powerful track, but one which I feel loses
its way when it moves from the pop area into a very experimental stage,
and which I don’t think works well at all. “Airtight” (5:13) is a very
different style with a gentle acoustic setting for the most part and
again a very melodious track with a couple of twists toward the end.

The
five part suite, “The Knowledge Enterprise” (21:29) is a masterful
musical concoction, which although playing as individual tracks, does
not distract from the overall flow of the music. The suite contains some
wonderful piano and synths, simple but stunning guitar playing, crystal
clear vocals and harmonies behind all that the subdued power of the
drum/bass unit. The music moves from piano and vocal to full blown band
workouts as it ebbs and flows through its 21+ minutes. A bold step on a
debut album to include such a piece of work, but one that is really
successful.

A Lifeblood Psalm
is a wonderful showcase for a new band and despite not taking too many
chances by moving away from a relatively safe middle ground, musically
speaking, the forays into the further reaches of the progressive areas
suggest that the will to do so exists in the minds of these musicians.
As to whether they venture further into these more uncharted areas
touched upon in A Lifeblood Psalm, the next album will give us the answer,
I’m sure. An album that is well worthy of purchase and should have you
allocating it a small space on your CD shelf.